The Moments in Between
by alexanndria
Summary: He should have known better than to get caught up with Korra, the Wolf-Bats new firebender and the talk of the town. Oh right, she also happened to be the Avatar. Mako supposed it was fate. The universe had always had it out for him. AU
1. Chapter 1

_**.: the moments in between :.**_

Mako hates the word fate. It's never done anything for him and Bolin. Fate killed their parents and left them out on the streets. It was cold and unforgiving. Bolin - a bit naïvely in Mako's opinion - was of a different persuasion. He thought that everything happened for a reason. But, Bolin was always optimistic. No. Mako believed in hard work and dedication. If you wanted something no one was going to hand it to you. He learned that the hard way.

Warm sources of orange light fly though the gym brighting up the stuffy space. Mako's breathing is labored and he is bent over after throwing a fierce fire kick towards the celling. His head snaps up when he hears clapping from the entrance making sweat drop to the mats below him.

"Not bad, City Boy." She stands there in a tank top and shorts that hang loosely off of her rounded hips. Her hand is placed on her waist as she shifts her weight to the side - the light from the open door illuminates the back of her head as a sort of halo. Mako thinks its ironic since she's anything but.

Korra's team has their own training facilities, but she always happens to pass by when he was practicing for a match. At first he thought it was because she was trying to spy on their techniques - but soon realized that wasn't her style. She didn't need to resort to cheating to win a match - which was probably cause many fights between her and her, not so noble, teammates.

She's the best firebender in the league. Even better than him - but he expected no less from the avatar.

"So are you going to sit here and stare at me all day or are we gonna spar?" She raises an eyebrow at him as she places her gym bag on the floor next to her. She walks over to him, pulling her shorts up a bit and tying the string tight.

Mako smirks and runs his tongue along his lower lip, wiping the sheen of sweat off of his forehead. Korra was never one for small talk or forced formalities. She liked to get straight to into whatever she set out to do. He envied that about her. She was impulsive. She always had fire and passion in her eyes. Mako wonders if she would have the same passion if he thrusts into her body, slamming it against the wall while capturing her pleasure filled screams with his mouth.

He jumped back as she sent a warm ball of fire in his direction. She was twirling her arms in a circular motion - her trademark smirk forming on her face.

"What's wrong? Can't keep up?" He answers by throwing a kick in her direction which she dodged by bending over backwards. Her laugh bounced off of the walls of the gym, reaching the high cathedral ceilings. She jumped back into a crouching position cracking her knuckles as she stands.

"Now we're getting somewhere."

Neither of them knew how long they kept up their dance for - but neither of them wanted to stop. Mako was always held down by everything. His responsibly to his brother and his need to protect him. He didn't consider it a burden - not in the slightest. But here, when he has sweat dripping down his body and fire shooting from his hands, is where he feels free. As if nothing can touch him.

Korra manages to finally land one of her wild kicks in his direction. Not prepared for the blow he falls over into the nets Bolin uses for his target practice. Before he has the chance to get up he feels a weight on top of him. She pins both of his wrists between her fists and pushes him down further - the rope complains under their weight. She was close. So close he can feel the tips of her hair on his face and smell the salty breeze of the bay that she traveled across everyday.

"It looks like I win this one." Mako felt his face heat up as she moved closer to him. It had become a part of their daily routine. She would pretend to be indifferent him whenever she was out with her teammates. Rolling her eyes as Tahno made yet another below the belt quip about the duo's parents in an attempt to rile them up. And he would pretend to forget she existed if they saw each other in public. It benefited both of them. Korra didn't want to deal with Tahno's mouth and Mako didn't need the distraction. That's what she was, a distraction. One that he'd usually been able to push back and focus on what was important.

But recently things had gotten a bit more complicated. Everyday he would train at the same time and everyday she would happen to pass by. He could have just changed the time he trained so he wouldn't run into her. But, he didn't want to. They always ended up the same way. With one of them losing - usually him - and the other claiming their prize.

He can feel her eye lashes as her nose grazes his gently. Her hands were slowly loosening their grip around his wrist - her fingers leaving fire in their wake as they trail down his arms to rest on his face. She presses her cheek to his while pushing her fingers through his hair.

"You should go before Tahno finds you again." Mako wouldn't be surprised if the team captain kept a tracking device on her. He always seemed to show up at the most inopportune moments.

"I don't care." Korra whispers against him as she bites down on her bottom lip. She's impossibly close, so close he can practically taste her and the dumplings she had probably eaten for lunch.

"Thank spirits." Mako places his palm on the back of her head and closes the gap. He realizes he was mistaken before. This is where he felt most free. When they were connected and she was trying to touch him everywhere as if she couldn't get enough. Where he pours everything into her. His frustrations, his happiness and his pain. She didn't care - in fact she welcomed it with open arms.

His lips travel down to her neck and a throaty moan escapes from her mouth. He pulls her closer to him - holding her so tight he thinks he must have bruised her. This is how she liked it. They couldn't get any closer and she is pushing a warm hand up his tank top. Her fingernails grazing him harshly on their way up his chest.

"SPIRTS!" She pushes him away before he even has time to think; pulling herself up and yanking down her top which had bunched up over her chest bandages. Without so much as an explanation or a goodbye she grabs her gym bag and rushes out - her hand over her mouth and her face as red as his uniform.

Mako sits up and blinks in confusion. What did he do to set her off? He froze when he hears someone clearing their throat behind him. He coughs into his hand and adjusts his pants as he stands up and turns to face Bolin.

His brother stares at him intensely. Mako stares back with what he hoped was a passive expression. It wasn't long before Bolin's face brakes out into a wide grin. He walks over and pats Mako hard on the back making him cough up the air Bolin just stole from him.

"I knew it! I knew it!" Mako rolls his eyes as he picks up his training bag. He can hear Bolin chanting juvenilely to Pabu while he walks to the staircase. He was never going to hear the end of this.


	2. Chapter 2

_**.: the moments in between :.**_

_**..chapter 2..**_

Korra's eyes lazily roam the ornately decorated room, nothing catching her waning attention. She grabs a champagne flute from a passing waiter, thanking him before turing back around to the dance floor where some classical waltz music notes made their way through the space.

Every year before the championship there was apparently a banquet thrown in honor of the finalists. It was mostly for the nobles to decide who to place their bets on. They were expected to mingle with people who were putting prices on their heads so they would know what to make the going price rate.

Korra feels the thin glass leave her fingers when someone plucks it from her hands. She turns around to half-frown half-pout at Tenzin. He looks at her with judgement in his eyes doing everything short of waging a finger in her face.

"I'm not a child Tenzin." She protests, reaching to grab the glass from him looking every bit the petulant child who hasn't gotten what she wanted.

Tenzin moves the glass just short of her reach. "How about next year when you're old enough?" He says in a monotone sort of voice that tells her that he's reached his patience level for the night. She had seen Meelo trying to use the plants for a bathroom again. "Or when most of Republic City's authority figures are not here."

The who's who was out tonight. Everyone who was somebody under the city's harsh neon lights was here. And Korra knew none of them. But they all seemed to know her. Once she got a moment to herself someone else would come introduce themselves to her. Being in the city for a while she's learned it's not because they want to know her, it's because they wanted her to know their name.

Korra turns away from Tenzin, who has convinced himself that she won't cause anymore trouble and goes to tend to his other children. She spots a gorgeous girl with jet black hair and bright eyes, her name was Asami if she remembers correctly. The one who has the tumultuous on again off again relationship with Mako, at least according to the papers. She spots his bright red scarf that he always seems to wear in a corner next to the entrance doors (mostly likely for a quick getaway). Judging by the way they were avoiding each others eyes and standing a room apart she guessed they were off again.

Korra picks up her figure off of the wall she had propped it on making her way over to him, maybe everyone would stop trying to introduce themselves to her if she were talking to someone and hopefully he could get her some champagne.

Mako lazily raises his eyes to acknowledge her when she nears him. He is softly caressed by the glowing lantern lights being used of decoration, his scarf tucked into his formal jacket, his amber eyes half open. She could feel the aloof annoyance coming off of him in waves, along with a bit of boredom.

"You seem like you're having a great time here -" she smirks as he straightens himself against the wall. " - City Boy."

"Yes. Very enjoyable." He mutters.

Another uniform clad man passes her from behind. She takes a flute from his tray, smiling sweetly. "It's for him." Korra points to Mako, head tilted to one side, who shrugs nonchalantly in response. The waiter seems satisfied as he moves past them to serve a man who has gotten particularly loud in his drunken state.

"You look good." Korra sips the champagne, making a face. It was disgusting. She felt as if she wanted to take a napkin and wipe her tongue off and maybe wash it out with a bit of water. "This does not taste as good as they make it seem."

Mako pulls his lips together in an effort to stifle the laughter climbing up from his chest. "So do you. But I have a feeling you already knew that." His smug grin matches her own.

Deep down she knows she shouldn't, she shouldn't openly flirt with him in public. At least not until the match was over and she didn't have to tip toe around anything. It was so easy with him, to forget everything and lose herself in the warmth of his rare smile. Hey, she was the Avatar, she could do whatever she wanted to. She could be afforded a bit of fun every now and again.

Korra fingers the folds of his jacket that reminded her of the calm waves before a big storm back in here tribe. Fluid, soft and beautiful. "Did your girl friend give you this?" He snaps his head down towards her and for a moment she thinks she's gone to far, touched the edge of the circles they danced around each other.

"No." He turns away and Korra's anxious face relaxes under the weight of her guilt from digging to deep. "My brother got me this jacket. With money he had saves up from some circus street show of his." He chuckles at the memory, Korra's eyes light up from seeing him smile.

"Where is your brother now?"

Mako gestures across the room unamused at his brothers current position surrounded by women laughing at all of his jokes. "He's the only reason I haven't left yet."

"Your brother can take care of himself." Korra points out, moving closer to him, she knew she was getting dangerously close to that line again but she kept pushing. "Are you sure that's the only reason?"

He shrugs. "Maybe not."

Mako takes his eyes off of his brother and turns to stare down at her with a look she can't seem to decipher. She feels a hand on her shoulder when she opens her mouth to ask, the hand pulls her closer into a hard body. She turns around to glare at Tahno, who merely looks at her with cruel amusement in his eyes.

"Let go of me, Tahno." Her voice is dangerously low and her body is started to heat up.

"You should be thanking me, Avatar." Tahno says, making a judging sort of tsk tsk sound. "I'm saving your dignity and your social reputation. You don't want everyone thinking you're wasting your time with common trash."

To his credit Mako is much more patient than his brother's small pet that bit Tahno's face last week after a comment about their living arrangements. He merely glances at Tahno with a look that says I-can-seriously-hurt-you-but-I-won't-becaise-you're-not-worth-it. Korra's body started to warm up in a different place.

"I don't give a damn about my social reputation." Korra uses her strength to push Tahno away from her, glaring at him. "And what I do outside of the ring is none of your business."

Tahno sighs dramatically, flipping his hair to the side in the same fashion. "My dear Avatar, in life there are winners and losers. Luckily, you were born a winner. Why would you lower yourself to this level? Are you going to join the winner's circle where you belong or are you going to be dragged down by losers who have done nothing but fail a life? I mean what a joke they are." He points at Bolin who was making Pabu do tricks to impress his newfound friends.

Mako pushes himself off the wall, his fingers emitting a warm orange glow, his amber eyes lit with the fires of battle. He was going to attack. Korra grabs his arm, shaking her dead slightly. Mako's hands cool and he settles for a vicious glare.

"Hey you wanna get out of here?" Korra asks, still holding on to his arm. Mako looks in his brothers direction, deciding he will be fine on his own and turns to leave the ballroom room with its grand ceilings and crowing arches behind, Korra in tow.

Korra turns to stick her tongue out a Tahno, who merely shakes his head, flips his hair and walks away. She looks down at her and Mako's entwined hands and fights to keep the blush from creeping up her face.


End file.
